


the collector

by Chiaroscuro555



Series: across the galaxy and beyond time [4]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), 有翡 | Legend of Fei (TV), 狼殿下 | The Wolf (TV), 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) RPF, 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Doppelganger, M/M, Monsters, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28824219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chiaroscuro555/pseuds/Chiaroscuro555
Summary: After Xiao Zhan disintegrated again for the second time, Wang Yibo was on a mission of self destruction, until TARDIS had had enough.
Relationships: Wang Yi Bo/Xiao Zhan | Sean
Series: across the galaxy and beyond time [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2096646
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

_ How… _

_ How do you… _

_ How do you heal a broken heart? _

Wang Yibo typed that question slowly into his phone, while lying down on the TARDIS's floor, hoping the internet could give him an answer.

Not half a second later it popped back up with the answer. A whole one million plus search results of them. He just clicked at the top one.

  * _Make a choice: either run from the pain or deal with it._



Hmm, he could do that.

Of course he would deal with it, he ain't no chicken, no siree, he would deal with it by running away to the end of the world, or so he thought.

He was just coming back from ancient Rome, fighting gladiators when the huge snake monster appeared. Well, he bagged it too. And he would keep it as a pet if TARDIS did not protest by  _ not _ letting him in if he brought the snake with him. So he regretfully had to shrink the snake down to a tiny itty bitty snake and let it go into the wilderness.

_ Woman. _

He drank the last of his alcohol, courtesy of Caesar. 

Yes,  _ that _ Caesar. 

And wow it was a potent one.

He could feel his consciousness slipping away from him just from a tiny sip, and he gladly closed his eyes, as he heard the rhythmic beeping sound of TARDIS starting up to their next destination, wherever, whenever it would be.

Then it all went dark.

  
  
  
  


Wang Yibo didn't know how long he was passed out, when he heard the unfamiliar rumble, and the next thing he knew he was being thrown around like he was inside a blender.

Then the alarm blared loudly, making him groan and forcefully open his eyes to check what the hell had happened to make TARDIS so angry.

_ Alert! Time and spatial disturbance! _

What?!

Never in his life he got sober that fast, and double checked everything, twice.

What happened?

The answer came not a minute later when suddenly the TARDIS door opened with a bang, and in fell a person, with high velocity, as if he was dropped off from a certain height and TARDIS happened to catch him.

_ TARDIS happened to catch him. _

Right.

As if she would do anything without any planning.

The person was thrown inside rather violently, it made Wang Yibo sigh and heave himself up to go check on him.

He was on the floor face down, and did not make any movement. Maybe passed out.

Strange, he was wearing some kind of a long black and red robe, with long hair tied in a half ponytail. There was blood everywhere, and it was still wet.

Wang Yibo quickly turned the man around, and gasped.

_ Xiao Zhan. _

_ What kind of a sick game were you playing with me, TARDIS? _

  
  
  
  


Wang Yibo quickly checked the man in the ancient robe with long hair for any fatal wound, but didn't find any. Only scratches… and the track of tears in his beautifully hollowed face.

He touched the face tenderly, wiping the blood on the corner of his mouth, wondering what was his story this time. Why was he crying? Did someone hurt him? Did  _ he _ hurt someone?

Knowing how savage Xiao Zhan's reincarnation in every world was, Wang Yibo would not be the one to blink his eyes if he did.

He touched the gaunt and pale face again, when his eyes suddenly opened.

They looked at each other longingly for a whole five second before they spoke at the same time.

_ "Xiao Zhan…" _

_ "Lan Zhan…" _

What.

"Who's Lan Zhan?" He asked the Xiao Zhan's doppelganger with a raised brow.

"Well, _you_ _are_ , although wait… no, you're not Lan Zhan, although you look exactly like him. That fuddy duddy won't be having any expression, _or_ this strange taste in fashion." The man blatantly checked him up from top to bottom. "Who are you? Where am I? Am I in hell?" He looked around the TARDIS console room and gasped.

"I'm the Doctor, but you may call me Wang Yibo. And who are you? You are not… Xiao Zhan?" Wang Yibo observed the man closely, unfortunately he didn't know enough about Xiao Zhan to determine if this was another doppelganger… or someone else entirely. "Judging from your clothes, you're from… ancient China?"

The man, now seemed to be very focused on the light panel on the wall, answered with amusement in his voice.

"What's ancient China? The last time I remembered that it was the Xuan Zheng era, Ji Mao year, China. Not ancient. Ah and the name is Wei Ying, courtesy name Wuxian. And since you looked like Lan Zhan, you may as well call me Wei Ying. What's this? Is this dark magic?" He poked the light panel with his finger.

"That's TARDIS light panel."

"The  _ what _ light what now? I thought you have to use candles or talisman to make light? What kind of magic is this? Can you teach me?" Wei Ying's eyes were lighting up right now, making Wang Yibo speechless for a moment.  _ Just because. _

"It's called electricity and it was generated by TARDIS's main generator, and you are literally inside a time machine now."

"I have no idea about whatever that has just come out of your pretty mouth, but I like it. Can I generate electricity too? And who's TARDIS?

"Well, if you have an iron rod as a spine then yeah, sure, you can generate electricity, after being electrocuted by ooh, let's say, thousand thunderstorms, at once."

"Well, Wang Yibo, I'm here, aren't I? Maybe it's possible after all after I figured out how to do it with my talismans." He took out a bunch of yellow paper from under his clothes and started drawing frantically. "By the way, I like you, you look like my… friend, but boy you have a mouth on you." He chuckled loudly.

Wang Yibo had no idea if he was supposed to be offended or happy, when the alarm blared once more and he grabbed Xiao Zhan… no,  _ Wei Ying _ , and pulled him into his embrace to shield him from the harsh shaking that TARDIS made.

"What's wrong with this?" Wei Ying asked Wang Yibo with his curious grey eyes so beautiful Wang Yibo wanted to drown in it.

"Ah, she's temperamental… "

"Ah, I see…" Wei Ying nodded his head as if he understood what was in women's mind. "She's just like… Wen Qing."

Then before Wang Yibo asked who Wen Qing was, the outer door was opened and both of them were sucked into the time and space vortex so strong, Wang Yibo didn't have time to hold on to anything except Wei Ying. His heart clenched when he looked down at Wei Ying. He looked small and fragile, but Wang Yibo saw that his eyes were clear and unafraid.

"Hold on to me tight," he told Wei Ying, "it's gonna be a rough ride."

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

They landed with a thud, and Wang Yibo was the one who brunt all of the impact because there's no way in hell he would let Xiao Zhan… _Wei Ying…_ whoever his name was, get hurt again. Not in the slightest.

Wang Yibo checked his surroundings, while still holding Wei Ying tight, and discovered that they were in some sort of a room. An ancient chinese, judging by the appearance of the furniture. There was a white robe hanging near the bed, ready to be used.

He stood up, taking Wei Ying with him.

"Ah, Yibo gege, I'm fine, I can walk by myself…" Wei Ying sent him a coy smile and blushed. "You really do look like Lan Zhan. He also wanted to protect me all the time, and even asked me to go back with him to his… nevermind. It's unlikely that I will ever see him again after… after."

Wang Yibo could hear the longing and regret in Wei Ying's voice and he was hit with a pang of jealousy by this Lan Zhan person. But he said nothing, it was not his place to feel anything, let alone jealousy.

"Oh wow, this place is bigger and grander than the fucking Jins' palace, or the Wens'. Where are we?" 

Wei Ying walked around the room to check his surroundings, poking and prodding and checking the incense burner. Wang Yibo did the same, when they heard knocking on the door.

Wang Yibo shushed Wei Ying, who nodded and slid behind the room divider.

"Your Highness, your bath is ready."

_Your Highness?_

"Ah, okay, uh… thanks?" 

There was silence for the longest time, but Wang Yibo sensed that whoever was behind that door had not left. Yet.

"Do you need something else?"

"We need to prepare Your Highness for your bath. May we enter?"

Wang Yibo went into a panic mode. They would surely find out that they were trespassing and maybe caught him if he let them enter, and this was the residence of the Prince? King? And they definitely would kill them both. He didn't care about himself, but there's Wei Ying to… take care of.

He was still not in the right mind when he heard Wei Ying talk.

"Calm down, just tell them that you want to go to the bath by yourself."

Wang Yibo nodded, and cleared his throat.

"You all may leave, I will prepare and go to the bath myself."

There was even a longer stretch of silence before the maid replied..

"We will be leaving then, Your Highness. Just call us if you need us."

Wang Yibo had never felt that stressed before, when Wei Ying came out from his hiding place and grinning at him.

"Your Highness, huh? We probably landed somewhere inside the palace. But where is the original occupant of this room? Surely people will know if he's not here?" Wei Ying opened a cupboard and took a look inside.

"Is there any way in _your_ time that could put a fully grown man into a tiny cupboard?" Wang Yibo couldn't help himself. His mouth always ran faster than his brain.

But Wei Ying only laughed his beautiful, clear-like-a-bell laugh, and closed the cupboard.

"God, you're hilarious, you almost sound like my brother, and no, I was just checking if there's anything in this room to know about where exactly we are because as you said, time machine and all…" he shrugged.

"You took all this… surprisingly well." Wang Yibo tilted his head, seeing Wei Ying in a new light.

"Well, back in my time, I controlled hordes of living dead and made them do my bidding, so time travel probably was not a very peculiar sounding, compared to that." Wei Ying now rummaged the bigger cupboard mindlessly.

"Living dead? As in zombies?"

"I don't know what zombie is, but yeah, I controlled dead people, with my _dizi._ "

"That sounds cool, I'd like to see you do that sometimes!" Wang Yibo's brain was already making a calculation of how a man could control zombies, it would be _very_ exciting to find out. You know, the zombie apocalypse and all.

"Sure, if I'm still alive when I get back to my time. So, can we go take a bath now? I'm sticky in a place where it shouldn't be sticky and I really needed that bath yesterday."

"Right. If only I know where the bath is."

"Easy, it should be near your room. You want me to take a look?"

"Let's go then."

They sneaked out from the room and found the bath just inside the building behind the room. 

It was more like a pool, filled with milky white hot water and there were flower petals everywhere. There was also an incense burner that smelled like sandalwood.

"Oh god, this feels like heaven!" Wei Ying shed his clothes in record time and jumped into the water, splashing it everywhere and submerged until he was all wrinkled.

"Oh, by the way, Yibo," he said when he was back up to take a breath, "I found a picture of the person they called Your Highness, and wouldn't you know…" Wei Ying took a scroll from underneath his dirty pile of clothes and gave them to Wang Yibo. "Look at it."

Wang Yibo paused in the middle of taking off his pants, and took the scroll to open it, and gasped out loud.

"Yeah, I thought so too." Wei Ying continued swimming around the pool, splashing water everywhere like a beached whale.

"But this… this…" Wang Yibo was speechless, because he saw his own _face_ in the painting.

"Imagine if you have longer hair, and _not blue_ , then you're basically _him._ "

"Well, shit."

Wei Ying laughed.

"You are so fun, Wang Yibo, I like you."

"Yeah, so you said, but it's not helping."

"You know what? I have an idea."

  
  
  
  
  


"This is a bad idea." 

Wang Yibo saw his reflection on the distorted mirror, and he cringed. 

"Trust me, it isn't."

The man in the mirror looked back at Wang Yibo and he barely recognized him. 

Wei Ying dressed Wang Yibo with the long white flowy robe that was hung beside the bed, and he tried hard to hide the blue hair under a wide hat with a long net.

"You know Wei Ying, being _the_ Doctor has its perks, if only you asked me."

"Oh?"

This time, it was Wang Yibo's turn to grin as he modified his hair to go back to its normal dark color, and lengthened it as per the painting in the scroll.

"You _have_ to teach me how to do _that_!" Wei Ying squealed like a schoolgirl, "imagine what Lan Zhan will say if I do this in front of him." His eyes softened as he combed Wang Yibo's now long hair and tied it just like in the painting. "Now you looked just like him."

"Well, thank you Wei Ying, but I think it's a privilege only a Time Lord could do, you know, modifying hair and stuff. Although it's the first time I was able to do it." 

By then there was a knock on his door again, and the same maid was announcing that his guest had arrived.

"Your Highness, Prince Chuan is here. Should I send him in?" 

"Shit, Wei Ying, I think you should…" but before he could finish his words, the door to his room was opened with a bang, and _someone_ barged into the room while calling him.

"Fuck, Anzhi, why are you acting like this? I'm hurt! I'm so fucking hurt! I thought we are best friends and yet here you are, hiding in your room while ignoring me!"

Wang Yibo looked in horror at the newcomer.

_It's another Xiao Zhan's doppelganger._

He looked around to look for Wei Ying, but he's not in the vicinity, and the back window was open.

He took a deep breath, relieved that Wei Ying at least was out, when he faced Prince Chuan. Who looked _exactly_ like Xiao Zhan.

"Prince Chuan, forgive me… but I…"

"The fuck Anzhi? Why do you call me that? Are you angry or something?" 

Prince Chuan walked closer and inspected Wang Yibo's face.

"Ah I thought that your name _is_ Prince Chuan?"

Now he really was confused.

"Are you really _that_ angry I didn't come yesterday? Well, I'm busy preparing for our journey. You know Prince Zhou is not the one to be ignored and he requested you immediately, so we have to leave like, yesterday?" He came closer to Wang Yibo, and Wang Yibo could see the same exact mole under his mouth, which was now smiling.

"Now now, be a good boy, and call me Ji Chong as usual, okay?" Prince Chuan… no, _Ji Chong_ , moved closer and kissed his cheek fondly, making him flustered.

It seemed like TARDIS had thrown him into some kind of doppelganger harem all of a sudden, with no idea about what was this all about, when Ji Chong pulled him closer and kissed him right in the mouth. Tongues and all.

_Now_ he was half confused and half _aroused,_ thanks to Ji Chong who kissed him enthusiastically and half pushed him down to the bed. 

Wang Yibo was torn between enjoying the kiss, _and maybe_ _more_ , or pushed the man away and composed himself while trying to figure out what _exactly_ happened.

Thankfully before he could make that _hard_ decision, Ji Chong stopped the kiss. 

Wang Yibo moaned by the loss of the heat, and it was clear what kind of action he would take if Ji Chong did not stop.

"Anzhi, fuck, you're so hot when you're angry, but alas, we have to leave." Ji Chong pulled Wang Yibo up on his feet and fixed his robe. "There, you look gorgeous, as usual." He kissed Wang Yibo's forehead. "Now it's time to do our job."

_What job?_

It seemed that he blurted the question _out_ instead of keeping it in his head, as usual, because Ji Chong looked at him strangely before he answered.

"We had a request from Prince Zhou's residence to investigate the disappearance of the people around their city. It is suspected that it was the job of a demon." Ji Chong touched Wang Yibo's forehead. "Are you sick or something? How did you forget about this job? It was all you could talk about since last week."

"Uhm, I kinda slipped in the bathroom and hurt my head," Wang Yibo gave Ji Chong a classic excuse, "and I may or may not forget about some… things."

Now Ji Chong looked horrified, and he touched Wang Yibo's head.

"Are you _sure_ you can do this? I mean, we can always decline, you know, although I can't imagine the wrath of Prince Zhou, but your health is number one, especially if you do not remember any spell."

_What._

"Humor me, please, what did I do again?" Wang Yibo grabbed the sleeve of Ji Chong's black robe tight. He had bad feelings all of the sudden.

"You're a fucking Onmyoji, Anzhi, a demon slayer. The best one that this dynasty ever had."

_Well, fuck._

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

"Ji Chong, can you wait outside? I'd like to… be alone for a minute. I'll be out soon!"

_ More like Wang Yibo needed to breathe before he hyperventilated. _

Ji Chong looked at him with questions in his eyes, but he nodded.

"I'll prepare the carriage. Don't take too long now." Ji Chong kissed Wang Yibo's forehead then he left.

Wang Yibo scrambled to the open window at the back as soon as the door was closed and he scanned around to look for Wei Ying.

"Wei Ying…! Wei Ying! Goddamnit!" He almost punched the windowsill when Wei Ying appeared and climbed back into the room.

"So, a demon slayer, huh? Your doppelganger really led a very interesting life." Wei Ying chuckled and he took the hat with the long black net. "I guess you need me then? I know you know shit about slaying any demons judging by your… demeanor." Wei Ying smirked and Wang Yibo could see a hint of red flashing inside his eyes. "Lucky you, I am the greatest demon slayer, master of the living dead, and I will help you take care of the demon." He put on the hat and admired himself in the mirror. 

"Right, I had some deals with aliens, but never demons, so I guess I need your expertise on this… partner."

Wang Yibo patted down his own chest to look for his trusty sonic screwdriver and when he didn't find it, he looked around for his old clothes.

"Are you looking for this strange looking wand?" Wei Ying took it out and waved it around like what a fairy did. "What is this? I've never seen anything like this before."

"It's a sonic screwdriver, and believe me when I say it will make our life better." Wang Yibo took it from Wei Ying's gleeful waving, and kept it inside his chest. "By the way, I think you should act like my shikigami, that way I can tell Ji Chong that I summon you, instead of letting him be suspicious about our… identities."

"Hmm," Wei Ying looked at Wang Yibo in a different new light, "you're surprisingly knowledgeable." Then he took a bunch of talisman and gave Wang Yibo a yellow paper man with some inscription on it. "Take this, it will make us able to communicate if we ever separated. Careful not to tear it, it contained a piece of my soul inside."

"Thank you, Wei Ying." 

Wang Yibo looked at him with such a softness in his eyes that made Wei Ying remember the same gaze from another person, and he felt so stupid for remembering  _ him _ in time like this.

"Let's finish this, so we can go back to our respective times."

  
  
  
  


The journey to Prince Zhou's manor took them almost the whole day, and when they got there Wang Yibo felt like his body was being abused to the point that he couldn't stand properly.

He envied Wei Ying because he got to ride the horse, while he, the important onmyoji, had to sit inside the carriage without any shock bumper.

Wang Yibo was still clutching at his back side when Ji Chong opened the curtain to help him out.

"Anzhi, you look like someone has been railing you for a whole day, did you miss me that much?" And he had the gall to  _ wink  _ at him.  _ No fucking way _ that he was a bottom.

"Fuck you, Ji Chong."

"I'm down to try. Later though, job first."

Ji Chong grinned while extending his hand to help Wang Yibo out and his other hand sneakily pinched his bottom.

"Don't tempt me, baobei, the Prince is waiting."

_ The fuck? He was the one who did all that sexual innuendo and harassment, and now he accused me to tempt him?  _

Wang Yibo glared at Ji Chong, only to earn an amused chuckle.

Wei Ying watched that exchange with a smile on his face, wishing that he would, too, have a chance with his beloved Lan Zhan. Maybe. In their next life.

"Boys, let's go and get it all over with, and you can go back to your… mating dance."

Ji Chong sent Wei Ying a murderous glare before he looked at Wang Yibo.

"Anzhi, who's this ass, and why is his face similar to me?"

_ Not similar you moron, he's practically your fucking twin! _

"I told you, he's my shikigami, and yes I accidentally made him to look like you. Satisfied?"

"Hmm." Ji Chong let out an unsatisfied grunt, but he said nothing.

  
  


A man, who looked like a eunuch, came and ushered them inside, while Wei Ying wandered around alone to get a feel of their surroundings.

"Welcome, Your Highness Prince Xiao Chuan, Prince Chuan. Prince Zhao is waiting for you, please follow me."

Wang Yibo and Ji Chong followed the eunuch through the wide corridor to meet Prince Zhou and his wife, when a girl, about eight years of age, came running out of nowhere and latched herself to Wang Yibo.

"Oh? Little girl, where did you come from?" Wang Yibo crouched down to her level, smiling and talked to her in a low voice. She smiled back shyly.

"Aiyah, Princess Fei, you're now supposed to be here alone, where's Ah-Rong? She's supposed to be with you all the time. Ah-Rong! Guard, find that stupid maid quickly." The eunuch gave an order to the nearby soldier who quickly went to find the maid.

"Ah, it's fine. Little girl, Ah-Fei, right? You want to come with me to see your parents?" Wang Yibo offered his hand to the girl and she took it with a smile.

"Gege, gege, are you here to catch the monster?" She pulled at Wang Yibo's sleeve.

"Ah? Do you know about the monster, little girl? Fei isn't it?"

"Um! I'm very afraid of the monster under my bed, and the ones in the closet, and the ones who sneaked behind the room… I'm very scared, gege, will you help me?"

"That's a lot of monsters you got there, little girl." Ji Chong interrupted them, earning another glare from Wang Yibo.

"Sure, gege will help you, little girl, but now gege has to see your parents first, then you can show gege where the monsters are. Okay?"

Wang Yibo patted the girl's hair fondly. She was so cute and Wang Yibo was weak to such cuteness.

"Okay." Then she happily held Wang Yibo's hand, and Ji Chong watched that exchange with a very fond look in his eyes.

"You're surprisingly good with kids."

Wang Yibo only smiled and they continued to walk to where the prince had been waiting.

  
  


After greetings, and a fond scowling from the Prince to his daughter, they all settled down in the more intimate library, and waited for the tea to be served.

"So, Prince Zhao, what can I do to help you?" 

Wang Yibo opened the conversation, while the little girl, A-Fei, sat on his lap, playing with the tassel of his jade pendant.

"Well, actually, there have been disappearances here lately." Prince Zhao answered him, but Wang Yibo felt that Prince Zhao seemed to hold back something. 

So he pushed.

"Prince Zhao, we work at the highest level of discretion, so you don't need to worry about anything. But I want you to tell me the truth, so we can find the best solution. Please don't hold back."

Prince Zhao threw a glance at his wife, and when she nodded he continued.

"Actually, the people who disappeared were all the workers of this mansion, or anyone who ever came inside. So, I really want this to be solved as quickly as possible because people have started to talk."

"Mm." Wang Yibo looked at Ji Chong, who looked back at him, nodding.

"May we see around this place, Your Highness?" Ji Chong asked Prince Zhou, who once again looked constipated.

"Yes, but please be discreet as possible. We don't want… rumors to spread of ghosts or monsters living in the Prince's residence."

Wang Yibo nodded, then stood up to check things, and looked for Wei Ying.

"Gege, will you come to my room? I want to show you something good!" A-Fei whispered to Wang Yibo, as if it was a very big secret, and he indulged her.

"Of course! But first gege must go around the place first, gege will find you later, okay?

"Can I come with you? Please? I'm so lonely and scared, ge…"

Wang Yibo, a softie for children, couldn't resist as he offered A-Fei his hand. 

"Let's go then."

  
  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

They walked around the residence, with A-Fei chatting non stop while holding onto Wang Yibo's hand tight. Ji Chong left to do reconnaissance around the ground and Wei Ying came to tell him that he didn't detect anything malicious inside or around the residence.

"It's strange, really." Wei Ying plopped down beside A-Fei and tickled her. "I mean, I just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something here, but..." 

"You just couldn't point your finger at it." Wang Yibo finished the sentence.

"Exactly. So who's this little ball of fluff?"

"Her name is A-Fei, the daughter of Prince Zhou. A-Fei, this is Wei Ying, my friend."

"Hi!" A-Fei smiled at Wei Ying, showing her tooth gap cheekily.

"You know what," Wei Ying muttered under his breath, low enough to let only Wang Yibo catch it. "I heard from the grapevine that Prince Zhou and his wife were unable to have children due to some miscarriages the princess had in their early stage of marriage. Many famous doctors were called to help with the pregnancy, but none of them succeeded."

Wang Yibo was quiet while watching Wei Ying play with A-Fei, but he suddenly thought of something.

"A-Fei, now gege is free, would you like gege to check your room for monsters?"

  
  
  


They walked to A-Fei's quarter which was rather secluded in Wang Yibo's opinion. But then Wei Ying told him that he should see the Cloud Recesses with a tone so fond and sad at the same time, Wang Yibo couldn't help but squeezed his arm in reassurement.

"I'll take you back there after all this… tantrum from TARDIS."

"Nah, don't worry about it. Let's solve this case first and we'll talk later."

A-Fei hummed some kind of a tune when she dragged Wang Yibo into her room.

"Gege, come see my beautiful dollhouse!" She showed Wang Yibo an exquisitely crafted modern dollhouse that was as tall as A-Fei.

Wang Yibo was surprised, because that kind of craftsmanship should not be available in this era. So he peeked inside.

It was a really beautiful dollhouse. The furniture was intricately made, down to the tiny details.

But there was also something… unsettling about them, especially the lifelike dolls inside.

_ Why did they put dolls with ancient garbs inside of the modern style dollhouse? _

And the pose… 

Wang Yibo came closer to one of the familiar dolls with all black clothes when he felt the push from behind, making him trip and he was thinking that he's going to ruin the dollhouse.

_ Except… _

He let out a soft oomph when he landed on the carpet.

_ He landed on the carpet. _

"So, Anzhi, do you come here to play house too?"

_ Ji Chong. _

"What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to scout the ground? And where the hell are we?" Wang Yibo looked around to see the familiar surroundings, but on a smaller scale just a few seconds ago. "Shit, we're inside the dollhouse, aren't we?"

"Dingdingding! You are correct!" Ji Chong stood up from the sofa he was sitting on and helped Wang Yibo up.

"You need to be very careful and don't let the others touch you, otherwise you'll turn into them." 

"What others?" 

Ji Chong pointed his finger to the hordes of wooden dolls that were just making their way to them. He smirked and grabbed Wang Yibo's hand.

"Run."

Wang Yibo allowed himself to be dragged away by Ji Chong to another room with a door and slammed it shut behind them.

"Find something to hold this door, quick!"

Wang Yibo took out his sonic screwdriver, pointed it out to the door, and pressed the button. It emitted a whirring sound and the door was locked tight. Then he turned around with a satisfied smirk and saw Ji Chong looked at him with his sharp eyes.

"Uhm…" he forgot that he was in  _ ancient China _ for christ sake, and he just whipped out a strange looking device like that without any care in the world.

"Is that your new invention that you've been telling about since last month?"

"Uhm… yes?"  _ What kind of explanation should he tell the ancient man? That he was a man from the future? An alien? He'd be glad if this man that looked like Xiao Zhan did not slice him in half, judging by the huge blade on his back. Desperate times. _

"That was pretty impressive, you have to make me one later." Ji Chong gave Wang Yibo his sweetest smile with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "What can it do besides locking doors?"

"Uhm… fixing things?" This was the first ever that Wang Yibo was speechless because of a man, an ancient one nonetheless. Ji Chong was too smart for his own good, he might have to erase his memory later.

"Right. So. Back to our immediate situation here. It seems that this dollhouse sucked people inside and turned them into… dolls. Ha, so cliche. So, what should we do? Where's your useless shikigami?"

"He was supposed to enter the room with me, but he was not here, so…"

"Probably run away or turn back into paper, just like other shikigami." 

_ Paper. _

Wang Yibo remembered the paperman Wei Ying gave him to communicate with him and searched for it inside his chest.

"Voila! Thank god I remember this." He took the paperman out and spoke to it, calling Wei Ying.

"Wei Ying, you there? Are you alright?"

The answer was immediate.

"Yi… I mean, master, are  _ you _ alright? I saw that little evil girl pushed you and you just disappeared! I ran outside the second she did that. Where are you?"

"Thank god you're alright…" Wang Yibo saw the look on Ji Chong's face and he cleared his throat. "So, where's A-Fei right now? Did you get her? Stay away from her, she's… she's dangerous."

"No shit, boss, I mean I kinda put an exorcism talisman on her but she did not disintegrate or something, so I put a tracking talisman on her."

"Great, now can you enter the room? We need your help."

There's a beat of silence, and when Wei Ying spoke again, he was out of breath.

"Sorry, but the room seems to seal itself. I can't go in from any point of entry. What should we do? Should I… end the girl?"

"That sounds like a great idea by the second." Ji Chong mumbled quite loud when the door to their room was banged loudly. "We don't have much time before we get turned into dolls like them."

"Guys, there are better solutions than kill, or exterminate, or end someone's life, for christ sake, let me think for a minute!"

"We don't have a second let alone a fucking minute!" 

At that time, the door to the room was almost broken down by the sheer strength of the dolls outside.

"Wei Ying," Wang Yibo called Wei Ying again from the paperman. "Can you incapacitate the girl?  _ Not _ killing her, I repeat, do not harm her. Just make her pass out or something and take her inside the room please."

"On it."

Wang Yibo then looked at Ji Chong, who was just taking a chair to block the rapidly broken down door, and he helped him by quickly taking a desk and another chair.

"This will give us another oh I don't know, ten seconds?" 

"Patient, Ji Chong."

"Right, your shikigami." Ji Chong scoffed. "What makes you trust him so much? Because you make him look like me?"

"Ji Chong…" Wang Yibo really didn't understand why Ji Chong seemed so testy about Wei Ying, it's not like they were dating…  _ but _ , judging by the way Ji Chong kissed him, he might be dating the original Anzhi, thus the irk.

Thankfully right at that time Wei Ying called him.

"It's done. What else do you want me to do?"

"Throw her to the dollhouse, you too, and prepare a lot of your incapacitating talisman."

"Ooh, I like where this is going, just like back when I fought a horde of living dead. Be right there!"

Wang Yibo chuckled when he heard the glee in Wei Ying's voice, then he heard another voice asking him a question.

"Living dead?"

_ Fuck. _ He forgot that Ji Chong had the hearing of a wild animal.

"Ah, that… uh… "

"Is there something that you hide from me?"

_ He was so fucked. _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Ji Chong walked closer to Wang Yibo, forcing him to go against the wall. Ji Chong's mouth was very  _ very _ close. Too close for comfort, and Wang Yibo blanked out.

"I know it's really not the best time for this but… you never look so hot, like now." Ji Chong put his hand beside Wang Yibo's head, practically trapped him with his body.

"Uhm… we have like a... situation outside the door?" Wang Yibo gulped. His heart was practically leaping from his chest just by the look of Ji Chong, who looked at him like he was some kind of five course meal.

"I'm sure your… shikigami can handle them." Ji Chong's mouth was now hovering near his. Wang Yibo licked his lips nervously.

He knew that this man was not his Xiao Zhan, but rather someone else's Xiao Zhan. Anzhi's Ji Chong. He knew that.

But why everytime this man looked at him, he just… melted.

"Ji Chong… I-" Wang Yibo was about to surrender to the temptation that's called Ji Chong when he could not hear the banging of the door anymore. It has gotten quiet.

He looked at the direction of the door and found Wei Ying sitting on the desk, looking at them with such a keen interest.

"Go on, continue, don't mind me. I'll take notes for my… research later."

Ji Chong only smirked and continued to start kissing Wang Yibo when the latter pushed him off.

"This," Wang Yibo escaped from Ji Chong's embrace, "is not the time."

But Ji Chong caught his hand and whispered in his ear, "Later then." 

Wang Yibo felt hot all over, but he didn't say anything. He just focused on the little bundle of joy that was tied and unconscious near Wei Ying's leg. He hurriedly took out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it to the child.

"Is that a weapon or some sort?" Ji Chong asked Wei Ying.

"I have no idea. He said it was a screwdriver, but I never saw one like that."

"Nice. If I ask nicely enough, he'd probably make me one."

"Right." Wei Ying rolled his eyes.

Wang Yibo read the reading on the sonic screwdriver, and sighed.

"Just as I thought. This kid… is a Tenza, and she is not from this world." He looked at both Xiao Zhan's doppelgangers. "She's a… what do you call it… visitor, from a distant planet." Wang Yibo crouched down to check the restraint on the little girl.

"What do you mean by that? She's not Prince Zhao's daughter?" Ji Chong moved closer and observed the little girl who was still unconscious.

"I'm afraid not. She's an alien type that could grant whatever your heart wishes, at the cost of somebody else's soul. This dollhouse was just a vessel for the souls she collected. And judging by the alarming disappearance of the people here, someone knew and tried to cover it."

"So, you're saying that someone knew that this kid is dangerous yet they cover it?" Wei Ying tightened the rope that binds the girl.

"Yes, and I think I know who it is."

  
  
  
  


Wang Yibo is in a dilemma.

On one hand, he wanted to wrap this all up quickly and see if TARDIS was still mad at him. If not, maybe he could send Wei Ying back and get this all done.

_ On the other hand. _

He was not ready to say goodbye to yet another face of Xiao Zhan again. 

He knew, oh he  _ knew _ that it was inevitable, just like the previous two meetings where his heart bled every time Xiao Zhan disappeared into millions of fairy lights, taking a part of him with it.

He just wished that there was a version of himself and Xiao Zhan, lived happily together, somewhere out there.

Or maybe… maybe if he was being selfish… he wanted a version of Xiao Zhan for himself.  _ Any _ version would do. 

He just wanted to see his smile again, the beautiful smile, the eyes that looked at him as if he was the most important thing in the galaxy.

Wang Yibo sighed, and Wei Ying seemed to understand. His eyes grew soft and he patted Wang Yibo's back.

"Do you believe in fate?" He asked Wang Yibo. 

"Hmm… I don't know. I seem to not know anything these last days."

"Trust me, I know how you're feeling. But one thing I know for sure."

"What's that?"

"Fate has a way to fuck you up, but it also has plans. And I believe that this," Wei Ying pointed at himself and Wang Yibo, "is also fate."

Wang Yibo glanced at Ji Chong, who walked in front of them, carrying the little girl in his back.

"Well, I hope I can survive the heartbreaks til fate decides to give me a break."

"Believe in yourself, Wang Yibo. You're stronger than you think you are."

  
  
  
  
  
  


They went into the hall where they first met Prince Zhao, and Ji Chong put the girl down in front of them. 

There were loud gasps from the Prince and his wife.

"What in the world…? Your Highness, you said you have found the perpetrator, why do you treat my daughter like this? How dare you!" Prince Zhou and his wife were scrambling down from their seats, trying to release her daughter from the bind, but Ji Chong stopped them.

"Prince Zhou, I'm sorry to say but this is not your daughter." 

"What do you mean she's not my daughter? Are you crazy or what?" There's a hint of shame and pain in Prince Zhou's voice, and everything suddenly became clear.

"I think you've already suspected as much too, right Prince Zhou?"

"...what do you mean? Ridiculous!"

"I think you already suspected that somehow, your daughter is not what she seemed. You know, that nagging feeling that you shoved aside whenever you looked at her." Wang Yibo saw that Prince Zhou's expression had changed. "I'm sure you are a smart man, and you put two and two together, especially ever since that every maid that you assisted to your daughter were the first to disappear." That was the information he got from Wei Ying.

Prince Zhou was trembling, while his wife cried.

After a considerable amount of silence, Prince Zhou sighed and sat on the chair, taking his wife beside him.

"I knew I should not listen to that wretched sorcerer." He wiped his face harshly, trying to hide the shame and tears. "He said that he would give me a miracle baby, and it indeed was a miracle. We were so happy when A-Fei came into our house. She was so beautiful, and smart, and so easy to love." Madam Zhou was crying now, clinging to her husband's sleeve.

"Until the disappearance started." 

"Until the disappearance starte. It was her nanny. First we all thought that she'd probably ran away with her boyfriend. But when her boyfriend appeared in here, looking for her, I got this wretched feeling in my gut… like something bad was going to happen soon. And then the second disappearance, and the third, and you know the rest."

"Tenza children need souls to support their existence. They were the extinct ancient race and this was only the second time I saw one. Wang Yibo tried to calm the Prince. "Rest assured, Prince, we are going to take care of everything."

They left the Prince and his wife, and prepared to cleanse the souls.

  
  
  
  
  


Wang Yibo didn't think he could delay matters anymore, so he prepared for what's going to happen when Ji Chong entered the room where they put the princess and the dolls, which contained the seed of the Tenza race.

"So, Ji Chong, have you secured A-Fei?" Wang Yibo braced himself for the disappearance once more.

"You don't have to worry… you have done such a great job and it really helped me." Ji Chong came closer to Wang Yibo and whispered to him. "I owe you one… Doctor." He kissed Wang Yibo hard.

Wang Yibo jolted back but not before he felt a prick of something sharp behind his neck.

"But I'm afraid I have to take her, you know, money and all." Ji Chong shed his ancient garbs to reveal a full black combat bodysuit with some tech Wang Yibo had never seen before.

"You… you are not… Ji Chong?" Wang Yibo felt his eyes grow heavy.  _ Tranquilizer. _

"Well, you're not Anzhi either so…" he shrugged. "Anyway, thanks for your help, and I really do hope we meet again in the future to… settle our debt." He winked at Wang Yibo and he punched the tech on his arm. "Nice to meet you… Doctor, you really are something." 

Ji Chong did vanish this time, along with the Tenza,  _ not _ by disintegrating into a million fairy lights, but rather he dissipated into some kind of… black smoke.

_ Wait, black smoke? He's a fucking time traveller too? And more advanced than me? _

Then Wang Yibo could only see dark.

_ Who are you? _

  
  
  
  


"Wang Yibo, you have to wake up, quick! I can't contain the fire!" 

He heard Wei Ying's calling him repeatedly but he felt like he was underwater until Wei Ying slapped him.

"Wake up! The fucking mansion is on fire! Someone burnt it and it's spreading very fast!" Wei Ying dragged Wang Yibo out of the room.

"Where's Ji Chong?" He finally could speak although his head was like it's being beaten repeatedly by a hammer.

"I don't know, I thought he was with you!"

_ Yeah, and I thought it was all just a dream. _

"Nevermind, we gotta get out here fast." 

But there was nowhere else to go, and Wang Yibo finally tried to snap his finger to call the TARDIS. 

"Fuck, are you still mad at me? We're gonna die in another second here!"

There was a beat of silence, then TARDIS appeared in front of them with her signature thrumming, and Wei Ying shoved Wang Yibo inside.

"Where to?" He asked the panting Wei Ying.

"Anywhere but here." Came the answer.

"Right. I don't really care either. Take us anywhere, then."

  
  
  
  
  


They were both having hot tea and a bowl of noodles after taking a hot shower to wash the grimes from the fire, when Wei Ying finally broke the silence.

"What happened to Ji Chong? Did he… escape?"

Wang Yibo scoffed.

"Yeah he escaped alright, after he  _ drugged _ me, and took the Tenza with him."

"What?"

"Exactly. I don't know who he is, but I think I'm going to find out. He said something about money, and judging by his tech he came from a very distant future." Wang Yibo sipped his tea. "I think," he looked at Wei Ying seriously, "he is some kind of bounty hunter from the future."

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
